09/22/2009

Myth of Sisyphus= Myth of Meursault?

Whilst reading The Stranger, we were asked to read the essay The Myth of Sisyphus, written by none other than Albert Camus. Obviously not a coincidence, I think it's important to look at how the essay relates to the novel. The essay in itself appears to be another indirect message about existentialism. But why does this matter to the story?

After a brief summary of Sisyphus' predicament, Camus analyzes how Sisyphus might find meaning in his seemingly pointless life. What is this starting to sound like? Camus ends the piece with a statement eerily similar to the end of The Stranger. "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy" (28). The puzzlement the reader might feel seems to be identical when hearing this quote: "I felt that I had been happy...I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate" (122-123). I think that through studying The Myth of Sisyphus more closely, a more concise theme can be derived regarding Camus' sentiments on existentialism.

My questions would be: What is the theme of The Myth of Sisyphus? Are there differences between the theme of The Myth of Sisyphus and The Stranger? If so, what are they and what can be revealed about how Camus truly feels?

Comments

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I would say that they are two different mediums through which to arrive at the same theme. Although the details may be different, and The Stranger is more of a 'show' and Sisyphus more of a 'tell', I think that they have the same theme.

I would argue that the theme of The Myth of Sisyphus is that life is the meaning of life, since one can be happy while occupied by tasks that have no other meaning. I'm not sure this is exactly the same as the theme of The Stranger. It seems like The Stranger also deals with society's reaction to people like Meursault, but The Myth of Sisyphus contains no description of society (unless you count the gods).

It's interesting that Patrick McCarthy (in the Stranger packet) says that The Stranger is Camus's first foray into existentialism, and he develops his ideology further in The Myth of Sisyphus.

I think you make a good point, the image of Sisyphus is an appropriate metaphor the human condition as Camus depicts it in The Stranger. Just as Camus says we must imagine Sisyphus happy with his situation, Meursault makes his peace with his own situation.